Firing the soul-searing T-Gewehr anti-tank rifle from the bench (VIDEO)

The good folks over at C&Rsenal have for weeks been dropping pictures of their comically large M1918 Mauser 13 mm anti-tank rifle. Now they confirm it does actually fire.

Kaiser Willy’s Imperial storm troopers were issued just over 15,000 Tankgewehr M1918 rifles, which fired a armor-piercing 13.2 x 92mm round, rated for Tank und Flieger (TuF), or tank and aircraft, in the last days of WWI. These 40-pound beasts were the first production anti-tank guns and led to a series of similar weapons such as the Boys Anti–Tank rifle and the Lahti L-39 in the early days of the next World War.

However, the good ole T-Gewehr was captured in pretty large numbers in 1918 and many made it into hands of collectors.

With that, Mae, takes a vintage gun out for a spin in this brief preview video above, likely cleaving something of mass in two, and they promise more footage in a few weeks.